I am looking for anyone else who has had to deal with Growth Hormone Therapy. My 15 month old son will be starting therapy very soon. He is the average size of a 6-8 month old right now in height and weight. He has had a long list of medical issues during the past year, including: meningitis, pneumonia, asthma, shudder attacks, reflux, and others (too many to list it all). I don't know if there is a link between everything. He sees a Pediatric Endocrinologist who has done numerous tests on him and found the Growth Hormone deficiency (hormone is almost non-existent). I've done some research online about Growth Hormone Therapy, but would like to talk with someone who has had to go through it. Some of my questions are: Is there a set time during the day to give the shot? Where do you have to give the shot (location on body)? How long do you have to stay on the therapy? and many others. If you have gone through any of these, please help answer my questions. I'm getting frustrated with him having new medical issues every other month and no one can give me an answer as to why or what is causing it all.
Well, we went back to the doctor again this morning for breathing issues with a terrible cough. My son has lost weight again (since 2 weeks ago) and has another ear infection (he's had so many that I've lost count). The doctor wants my son tested for Cystic Fibrosis (CF) and he also wants to send him to get tubes put in his ears. I already have a family member with CF and I used to have tubes in my ears, so I kind of know what to expect. I'll update everyone when we find out anything else. Still waiting for the Growth Hormone Therapy to begin.
I know nothing about this but did find you a website that lists a few support organizations you might be interested in!!
Good luck!
http://www.endocrine.niddk.nih.gov/pubs/creutz/creutz.htm
A.,
I am the proud Mom of 2 children that went through Growth Hormone Therapy until 16 for my daughter and 18 for my son.
They are now 21 and 23.
Please feel free to e-mail at ____@____.com and I will do my best to make you feel at ease with all you questions. I know how you feel it is scary at first but it does pay in the end.
The shot are almost the same as insulin shots and are best given at bed time (the same time each day). There are several sites which they can be given and are best to rotate sites daily. The needle is designed to go just under the skin where the hormone can then be absorbed into the blood stream and delivered throughout the body. Since the needle is so small it feels like a pin prick and soon will not be felt at all. I remember having to tell the kids that I was already done, and they were still waiting for the hurt. As your son grows older he will be able to self administer the shots. My daughter really did like that she could do it herself. My son never did like it sometimes would and sometimes would not I never did make them I let them have the choice.
In answer to the relation to the sickness: If I understand properly yes there is a relation because of the low hormone cause a low immunity or something like that. Other than ear infections and colds after the Growth hormone the sickness of my daughter was greatly lessened and my son was really never sickly.
I hope this answers some of your questions and again feel free to contact me personally.
J.
Hey A. C.
I'm not real familiar with the growth hormone stuff, but my sister sure is. Her son has been taking shots for some time now and he has grown....feet, his voice has changed. So I know if you contact her, she'll be able to clue you in on some things associated with it. Email me at ____@____.com and I'll give you her email address.
Hi A.,
Yes, I have done alot of research on the HGH and my son takes a shot every evening (best time for it because that is when the body should be producing it). It can be given in the stomach, or buttocks. He takes it because he was on chemo. and Radiation for Luekemia and relapsed.
About me, Married to a Marine , 2 sons age 15 & 12, Self Employed as a Certified Horse Riding Instructor, Graduate of U OF H College of Business.
i read recently about traumatic birth syndrom, when a whole host of diseases can happen during the birth process. this was from a link to a chiropractor. please keep an open mind about this... one post in the link mentioned christopher reeves, remember how he fell off a horse and hurt his neck? well, because of that fall, he could not walk, needed help to breathe, lost control of his bowels, etc. he did not hurt his lungs, his intestines, his legs.... so you see the connection between a healthy spine and a healthy body. write back to me if you want the link, and then you can be on the path to finding an excellent chiropractor in your area.
take care,
P.
Kendal Stewart, MD in Westlake at the Dizziness Center would be your best bet! He's known throughout Texas as a miracle worker for situations like yours.
S.
I don't know if I will be of any help, but my friend's son is going through growth hormone shots. He has a lot of medical issues, but one of the main ones is that he never has hunger pains.. so he isn't ever hungry; therefore he won't eat.. so he won't gain weight and grow. Long story short, they started the shots.. I think you take it once/day, same time of the day.. and they would alternate one leg, then the other, then in the gut, and I think the arms. They also brought her son so a class to help him over the fear of getting a shot everyday. I think he is still taking the shots, but I can't sure. Good luck with it.. I can only imagine how stressful this must be for you.
I know how you feel! I have a son who has been on GHT ever since he was 18 months old. He is 13 1/2 yrs now and has done very well.
To answer your questions:
1. There is no set time to give the shot. I do it in the morning because that works for our schedule. You want to give the same time of day though. Your pituitary gland produces GH while you are sleeping, but when you take the shot of synthetic (we use Genotropin), you don't have to take it just before bedtime.
2. I give the shot to my son in his upper thighs. You can use the arms, legs, stomach, etc. Somewhere where you can pinch up some fat for the needle. It's just a tiny needle too and real short.
3. If you don't produce GH yourself, then you will be on the therapy until you stop growing. For boys, like my son, that can be until he is 20 yrs old. Your endo doctor will determine this but plan on it being many years.
When my son was 18 months old, his bone age was only that of a 9 month old. It took 2 1/2 years on GHT for his bone age to catch up with his chronological age. That happened at 4 yrs. old, so don't get discouraged and think it is not working. Also, you have to understand that growth hormone therapy is not just for height. It also helps with cardio and bone strength and other things in the body, so I would recommend doing it.
If you have any other questions, please don't hesitate to ask.
My email is ____@____.com son has also been lucky and had absolutely no side effects to GHT. We decided the benefit was well worth any risks and it really has helped him. My son has CHARGE Syndrome so we deal with a lot of different issues. He also dealt with reflux and pneumonia and has had a fundoplacation done and the button G-tube. We don't use the G-tube anymore and he is doing great.
J.
I have relatives who adopted a child who, in their opinion, was smaller than the child should be although her health was excellent, no problems at all...so they started the child on growth hormones. This did NOTHING but make the child gain almost 200 lbs! The child went from a healthy weight to about 230-250 & the child is still the same height! They did this although the child didn't, they forced it on the child. Now the child despises the parents for doing this & cannot seem to get the weight off no matter what they try to do. I cannot tell you how appalled & angry I was when I heard about it & there was nothing I could do. The mom is even a registered nurse! She should've known better. This child was just small in stature/build. Who's to say that since the child was adopted the birth parents or someone in the birth family wasn't small. I think you should accept & love your child as they are. So what if they're not as tall as you think they should be. Each person is different, & the past health issues may've been a factor, you should look into possible side effects of each illness to see about that. If your son is fine otherwise despite all the past health issues it should be left alone. There are a lot of people who aren't that tall, is being short or small a bad thing? If it's not affecting him any other way, I'd leave it alone. It may backfire on you. Growth hormones are not something to take lightly, it could cause him to gain an enormous amount of weight & no height at all like the child in our family. Why would you give a baby growth hormones anyway? Perhaps the baby is just a slow developer. Usually athletes take growth hormones to gain more muscle or "bulk up". A baby can't "work out" to even out the bulk. You should REALLY do thorough research before doing this, once you start, there's no going back. I would strongly advise against it.
Hello, A.,
My daughter was diagnosed with pituitary dwarfism at 9 1/2 years of age. She was 48 inches and 48 pounds. She has been on the growth hormone for almost four years now. She is doing really well at the moment. If you have any questions or would like to talk to me instead of email, you can reach me at ###-###-####. I will try to answer any questions that you might have...
Sincerely,
K.
Please call if you want to talk...
Hi A.,
I have a son who is 15yrs now, he started on Growth Hormone Therapy when he was 8. His problem is a malformed pituitary, so he doesn't produce hormone.
Answers to your questions:
1. He takes his shot in the evening before bed. 2. My sons shots are rotated front and back of arms and top of thigh for 6 nights a week. 3. My son has been on HGH for 7 yrs now and we are discussing whether or not he can go off of it, it's a wait and see thing for when he has reached his target growth.
You can email me if you want, I have been dealing with this for years and may be able to help you out with your other questions. ____@____.com Just put mamasource in the subject line so I don't delete it.
T.
